Sunday, April 18, 2010

someday he'll make a great husband

we have a little alcove at the top of our stairs that we have made into an art area for the kids.i usually find anna here every afternoon, drawing, coloring, creating.this afternoon ben decided to hang out too though he was busy in his little kitchen.

the light was streaming in the big window and there were shadows everywhere.ben seemed so happy playing in the sunlight, taking dishes out of the microwave and cooking a meal with his plastic hand-me-down playfood.

all the while, he jibberjabbered. AHH-DEE!OOOOHHH!GETTDAT!DITT!

he cooking and stirred and giggled.

food went in the microwave, out of the microwave.in the oven, in the fridge, in the sink. little plates were stacked and unstacked.

and the late afternoon sunlight was warm and comforting and made everything feel so homey.it felt so nice to bask in it.

ben played for over an hour, all the while entertaining himself and keeping busy.culinary masterpieces take time after all.

at one point, anna looked over and realized that ben was hard at work.i saw her noticing and told her that ben was making us a nice dinner.

"someday he'll make a great husband, mommy, " she said so sincerely.

and just like that, i was utterly grateful for this very moment.

sometimes our children can be the greatest reminder that every day is a gift.

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results."
Albert Einstein

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
Melody Beattie“…when some doctor tells you “Your child won’t…” or “Don’t get your hopes up,” don’t you dare sell your child out and buy into that… defeatist attitude. Sometimes all it takes is a belief that it can happen, the determination to create the possibilities —the right environment, the right people— and the ability to love your child more than you fear their labels and limitations.”
Niksmom, Maternal Instincts blog

"It was my child who taught me to understand so clearly that all people are equal in their humanity and that all have the same human rights. I might never have learned this in any other way. I may have gone on in the arrogance of my own intolerance for those less able than myself. My child taught me humanity."
Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning author, Pearl S. Buck

“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.”
Anna Quindlen, Author

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
Albert Einstein, Inventor